


I've Got You

by meredithxgreys



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: F/M, andrew is sick, meredith is worried, meredith taking care of andrew
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-09-06
Packaged: 2020-04-12 02:24:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19122673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meredithxgreys/pseuds/meredithxgreys
Summary: “Okay.” He lays his head down, and even in the dark room she can tell something is wrong.“Hey,” She says softly before lying next to him. Instantly, she can feel his body heat radiating off of him. “Are you okay?”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the new fic I've been planning! All the medical knowledge is based off research, so it may not be entirely correct! Hope you enjoy :)

Meredith pulls her scrub cap off her head as she moves toward the nurse’s station. She reaches around to her shoulder and rubs her tense muscles slowly. Her surgery was long and complicated, completely exhausting. Her patient coded three times, only for her to find another mass. The woman’s cancer had spread. Not good news at all.

Meredith’s muscles ache, and she’s definitely in need of a nice hot bath. Andrew is supposed to come over to her house later tonight, and maybe she can convince him to give her one of his killer massages. Afterwards maybe he can give her some mind blowing orgasms to help her relax.

First, Meredith has to update the patient’s family and break to them the bad news. This is one of the parts of the job she absolutely loathes. When she was an intern, it wasn’t that bad, but after being the person in the waiting room multiple times, she feels more for them because she knows basically what they are going through. It may not be identical, but either way it’s painful.

Meredith hangs her head down low as she shuffles her way down the hallway, but as soon as she turns the corner to the waiting room she picks her head up and smiles softly, mostly to be comforting. She peers around, and finds the patient’s family. She approaches them slowly.

“Ms. Patteson?” She says gently to get the woman’s attention.

She glances up at Meredith, worry written all over her face. “Yes? How is my mother?”

Meredith swallows roughly. “The surgery wasn’t easy. Your mother had a few complications that we resolved, but we won’t know exactly how well she is till she wakes up.”

“Oh, uh okay.” She fidgets uneasily. “Did you take the tumor out?”

Meredith sighs. “Yes we did, but unfortunately we found another tumor that the scans did not pick up. I’m so sorry, but your mother’s cancer has spread.”

She clasps her hand over her mouth. “Oh my God, oh my God.”

“Ms. Patteson, your Mom is okay though. You can go see her in about an hour, once she’s out of recovery.”

Next thing Meredith knows she’s being pulled into a tight embrace. “Thank you so much, Doctor Grey.”

Meredith rubs her back softly. “You’re welcome, honey.”

Ms. Patteson pulls away, sniffles, and wipes her eyes. Meredith smiles softly, before turning to leave. Right now Meredith just wants to cuddle up in Andrew’s arms. He is so comforting, and that’s exactly what she needs right now.

Meredith makes her way back to the nurse’s station. She scans over the OR board and sees that he is not in any surgeries right now. She asks one of the nurse’s if they knew where he is, and she points to an all call room down the hall.

Meredith practically runs down the hall, the thought of being in his arms becoming more appealing by the second. She swings the door open, startling the figure on the lower bunk.

“Mer?” He says weakly.

She shuts the door softly behind her. “It’s me.”

“Okay.” He lays his head down, and even in the dark room she can tell something is wrong.

“Hey,” She says softly before lying next to him. Instantly, she can feel his body heat radiating off of him. “Are you okay?”

“I think I’ve got a stomach bug. It hurts and I’ve thrown up twice already.” She now notices one of his hands clutching his stomach.

“Andrew,” She reaches out and put the back of her hand to his forehead. “You definitely have a fever. You should go home.”

“I don’t think I’ll make it on my motorcycle.”

“Then come home with me.”

His eyes fly open. “Meredith, I don’t need you to take care of me.”

Meredith sighs. “Andrew, I’m your girlfriend, it’s part of being a girlfriend. Look, I’ve got you.”

He cracks a slight smile before wincing. “What about the kids?”

“I’m taking care of a sick friend. They don’t need to know anything else.” She loves how he thought about the kids even when he’s not feeling well. She hasn’t had the chance to talk to them about her dating, so he will have to sleep on the couch.

“Okay.” She stands up, and watches as he moves to get up and quickly clasps his hand over his mouth. She grabs the little trash can from near the door and hands it to him. He retches for a few seconds before putting the trash can down on the floor. She moves to rub his back reassuringly. “I think I’m good for now.”

“Okay, you ready?”

He nods and pushes himself to his feet. She keeps one hand on his back as they walk to the door. He stops abruptly. “Are you sure you want to expose your kids to this, Mer?”

“Andrew,” She says sternly. “First of all, we don’t even know what this is.” She waves her hand in his direction.  “Secondly, it’s probably exactly what you said it was earlier, a stomach bug. Thirdly, they go to school and daycare, where I’m sure they are exposed to this stuff every day. Lastly, I can disinfect the house if I really need to. So, just let me take of you tonight.”

He looks her up and down quickly before giving in. “Okay, let’s go.”

She pushes open the on all room door and glances over at his pale face. “Andrew, how about you sit at the nurse’s station while I go grab your stuff from the locker room? You’re really pale and I’d rather you not pass out.”

“Meredith, seriously. I’m fine.” He moves away from her grasp.

“Andrew, are you sure?”

He nods, before darting to the trash can at the nurse’s station. He grunts before falling back into one of the chairs.

“Now that you have puked in front of a bunch of your coworkers, will you let me take care of you?”

“Y-yeah.” He wipes his mouth.

“I’ll be right back, stay right there.” She turns and speed walks down the hallway.

Meredith pushes past a few different doctors and nurses before bumping into Maggie. “Sorry Maggie.”

“You’re fine Mer.” She brushes off her scrubs. “What are you in such a hurry for?”

“Andrew’s really sick, and I’m going to get his stuff while he is letting me take care of him.”

“Oh. I was planning on staying at Jackson’s, but call me if you need me. Okay?”

“I will, thank you.” Meredith nods, continuing on to the resident’s lounge.

Meredith opens the door and get some confused stares from the two residents by their lockers. she shakes her head and moves toward Andrew’s locker. There some books, files, his helmet, his clothes, and his backpack stashed in there. She grabs his bag and checks that it has his keys, just in case he wants her to take him home later tonight.

She dives her hand in his bad, fishing around for them. Once she finds them, she shoves them back in the front pocket of his backpack so she won’t lose them. She also grabs his clothes from the locker and puts it in his bag. The two residents are now throwing her questioning glances, and she ignores them and heads back toward Andrew.

She finds him still in the chair, but he has his head down. She gently shakes his shoulder. “Andrew, let’s go.”

“Hmm?” He mumbles.

Meredith sighs. “Andrew, come on.”

“Okay.” He lifts his pretty little face from the desk and she can’t help but smile. “I’m ready, I think.”

She nods, and grabs his hand to help him up. He grunts, and pain etches across his features. “I’ve got pain meds at the house, and I’m going to grab an IV bag to keep you hydrated since you keep throwing up.”

He just nods and leans against Meredith as they walk down the hallway. They make a stop by one of the supply closets so she can grab an IV kit much to Andrew’s dismay. It’s not long till she is helping him into the car, and she feels like he is ready to kill her. He definitely doesn’t like to be taken care of, that’s for sure.

They ride to her house in silence. At some point Andrew’s hand finds her thigh, and it relaxes her a little bit. If is he mad that she is taking care of him, then he isn’t showing it at least. She just wants him to be okay. Her mind races with all of the possibilities that this little stomach bug is something worse. Something that could make her lose him, even though she hasn’t even had him that long. His hand on her thigh calms her down just a little bit.

She pulls up to the house and grabs Andrew’s stuff. He follows behind her to the door. She doesn’t even finish unlocking the door before one of her kids swing it open. “Mommy!”

Bailey’s arms wrap tightly around her legs. “Hey Bails, I missed you.”

“I’ve missed you more, Mommy.” He nuzzles her leg for a moment before stepping back. He frowns. “Mommy, why is Andrew here?”

They step through the door and she shuts the door behind them. “He’s not feeling well, and since I’m his friend I am going to help take care of him till he feels better.” She hasn’t had a chance to talk to the kids about Andrew, and she can just hope they don’t pick up that there is something more between them.

“But why don’t his Mommy take care of him?”

Andrew glances between her and Bailey. “Because honey, his Mommy isn’t here.”

“Oh.” Bailey wanders back into the living room.

She turns to Andrew. “I’m going to make you a nice spot on the couch, okay?”

He just nods and walks over to the couch, flopping down.

She puts his bag down at the end of the couch, and moves to get the tasks done she needs to get done. She thanks and pays the sitter. She is truly amazing and Meredith cannot thank her enough. Meredith rounds the kids up, get them upstairs and getting ready for bed. While they are changing and brushing their teeth and stuff, she gets blankets and pillows for Andrew.

She opens the closet, and the first blanket she sees is Derek’s blanket. Memories of him hit her like a truck. She remembers all the times she was extremely anxious that something bad was going to happen to him. From the ‘Derek is dead’ dreams after the house of candles, to the shooting, to his fast driving after the shooting, to the plane crash and more. It felt never ending. He was the first person to make her feel like that, and here she is feeling it again with Andrew.

She shakes my head. It’s just a stupid stomach bug. Not everyone is a lightning rod for bad things. Except she is, and that includes the people around her. She just needs to breathe, and realize Andrew is fine, and he is not going anywhere anytime soon. He better not.

She grabs a different blanket and a pillow and brings it downstairs to Andrew. He looks a little more relaxed than he did earlier. “So you take me home, but I don’t even get to go to your bed?”

She chuckles. “I don’t want whatever,” She waves her hand in the air above him. “This is.”

“Come on, Mer. You are already exposed.” He groans.

“Well, sleeping in my bed will probably up my chances of getting it, so that’s still a no.” She shrugs her shoulders and head back towards the stairs. “Sorry!”

She hears him mumble something in Italian. She ignores it and brings her focus back on her kids. Now they are already for bed, so she tucks each of them in. She reads Ellis and Bailey a bedtime story till they fall asleep, and she gives Zola a book to read before she sleeps. Before she heads back downstairs she makes sure to give each of them a kiss.

As soon as she is downstairs she begins her next task. She finds a small trash can for Andrew in case he needs it. She sets it down next to him and he just frowns. “I don’t need that anymore.”

She raises an eyebrow. The back of her hand finds his extremely warm forehead. “Mhm. Your forehead says otherwise. I rather not risk you puking on my floor, thank you. Now give me your arm.”

“Huh?”

She rolls her eyes at him. “You are getting on IV to stay hydrated whether you like it or not.”

“Yes Doctor.” He pulls his arm from underneath the covers and holds it out to her.

She shakes her head at his tactics. He knows exactly what to say to get under her skin and it can be very annoying to her at times. “Are you ready?”

“I’m always ready, Doctor Grey.” She wraps the stretchy plastic around his big bicep. God does she ever love his muscles. She quickly wipes his inner arm with an alcohol pad before sticking the needle into one of the bouncy veins popping out. “Ouch, Mer! That hurt!”

“It’s a needle, dummy. Of course it hurt.” She shrugs while she connects the IV.

“Yeah well you could have been gentle, you know.”

Now it’s her turn to flirt. “I thought you liked it rough?” She asks in the most innocent way she can.

His eyes widen. “Meredith…”

She giggles. “You set yourself up for that one, Andrew.”

“Whatever, Mer.” He laughs.

She moves herself from the floor to sitting in front of Andrew’s stomach on the couch. They stare at each other for a long minute. “I should, uh, go get ready for bed.”

“Could you stay down here for a few more minutes?”

How could she say no to him? She smiles, and he pulls her to lay down next to him. His arm with the IV awkwardly wraps around her waist, and she feels him burry his face in her hair. He places a few chaste kisses on her neck. “Thank you for taking care of me, Mer.” She relaxes in his arms, shutting her eyes for only a moment.

 

* * *

 

 

She wakes up the second she hits the floor. She hears the sound of someone throwing up right next to her, and she shoots up. “Andrew?”

He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “Yeah?”

Her hand finds his cheek. “Are you okay?”

He swallows roughly. “Hurts. A lot.”

She nods before jumping up to get medicine from the kitchen. She brings back a glass of water and a couple of pills, and one for pain and one for nausea. As she crosses the threshold of the living room, he throws up again. He falls back onto the couch and clutches his stomach. All the awful thoughts come flying back. Most stomach bugs don’t cause this much pain.

Meredith sighs, and move towards him. “Here, Andrew. These should help with the pain and the nausea.”

He takes the glass and the pills from her, taking them slowly. “Thank you.”

Meredith smiles. “I’m going to go up to my room and try to get some sleep, but I will check on you in a few hours. Call my phone if you need me, okay?”

He just nods, still holding tightly onto his stomach. She cups his cheek again, and she brings her lips to his fiery forehead. She grabs his phone from his bag and hands it to him before heading upstairs.

She checks in on each of the kids quickly, and they are all sleeping soundly. She changes into comfier clothes, and can’t help but think of Andrew and the awful possibilities again. He’ll be fine. There is really nothing to worry about, but she can’t seem to stop.

She sighs, falling into her bed hoping to get some sleep. She glances over at the empty side of the bed and can’t help miss the feeling of someone being there. Andrew’s been there a few times, but he always leaves before the kids get up. Meredith tends to bask in the time they are able to lay here, in each other’s arms, just enjoying one another. She’s never been much of a cuddle person, but after losing Derek, she’s come to enjoy spending time in Andrew’s arms.

She pulls the comforter up to her chest, and curls into a little ball. She begs sleep to come, as she has another day tomorrow of back to back surgeries. That’s the one downside of doing research, is less OR time. She’s had to pile on multiple surgeries in a span of a few days because Bailey informed her that she wasn’t spending enough time in the OR. That’s how she’s ended up with back to back surgeries, and now she knows to throw in a surgery or two while she’s researching.

She runs through her cases for tomorrow, which help lures her to sleep. That is, until Andrew wakes her again, only this time, he is worse.


	2. Chapter 2

She jolts awake to the sound of her phone ringing. She grabs and answers it without even looking at who is calling. “This is Doctor Grey.”

“Mer,” She hears him swallow. “I need you to come down here, please.”

She doesn’t even respond back, she just jumps out of bed and flies down the stairs. She finds him on the couch clutching his stomach. “W-what do you need?”

“Meredith, the pain moved.”

“It moved?” She asks, trying to wrap her sleepy brain around exactly what is happening. “Where to?”

He grunts, but lifts his shirts and points to the lower side of his abdomen. She blinks several times, still not getting anything. “Meredith…”

His pain started just generally in his abdomen, which had now moved to the lower side, he’s been throwing up, and feverish.  Finally, her general surgeon brain seems to kick into action. “Oh my God, it’s your appendix!”

“You are just a little slow when you are tired, Mer.” He groans.

“Sorry, sorry. Uh, we have to get you to the hospital like now.” She glances around, trying to gather her thoughts. So, not just a little stomach bug. It’s probably just an Appy, like the easiest surgery in the world. He’ll be fine, right? “I gotta call someone for the kids.”

He nods, and whimpers as another wave of pain come over him. “Hurry, please.”

She runs back upstairs, almost tripping on the top step. She grabs her phone from the nightstand and immediately calls Maggie.

It rings several times before she picks up. “Mer, it’s like three in the morning.”

“I-I need you.” She blurts out, her brain now running a thousand miles a minute.

“Are you okay? Are the kids okay?” Her voice becomes clearer, and fills with worry.

“It’s Andrew, I’m pretty sure he has appendicitis and I need to get him to the hospital, like now.” She glances around her room, mentally thinking about what she might need grab before they leave.

“Oh, uh okay. I’ll be there in like ten minutes.”

She can hear Jackson in the background and Maggie shuffling around. “Thank you.” She ends the call, tossing her phone back onto the bed before grabbing some clothes to change into.

She checks on the kids quickly, and they all are sleeping soundlessly. She stands in the hallway outside their room to take a moment to breathe. He’ll be fine, he has to be. She is not letting him slip out of her grasp. It’s not happening.

She heads back downstairs to sit with Andrew. She takes a seat at his side and her fingers find his hair, running through the soft curls she’s come to love. “You’re gonna be fine.”

“I just want some morphine already.” He groans.

She presses a soft kiss to his lips. “We will get you some as soon as we get there, I promise.”

He just closes his eyes and nods. Both of his arms are wrapped around his stomach and gripping tightly. She understands the pain. She just remembers being in pain for a while, then once she got the morphine everything else was a blur. Hopefully he is the same way, and that things go smoothly.

The next several minutes waiting for Maggie are agonizingly slow. It’s obvious that his pain is only getting worse, which is making all the bad thoughts come back to Meredith.

When she hears the door open, she jumps to her feet. “Maggie, thank you so much. I need to get him to the hospital like now.”

“Okay Mer, keep me updated please.” Maggie’s hair’s a mess and she’s still her pajamas.

“I will.” Meredith nods. She grabs Andrew’s bag and her own and glances down at him. “Uh, Maggie, will you help me get him to the car.”

“Yeah.” Maggie nods.

“No, no, no. I can walk myself to the car.” Andrew interjects, standing up.

“Oh, okay.” Meredith walks past him, opening the door. He walks slowly, and grimaces with almost every step.

Meredith ends up helping him into the car anyways, because it looks like he struggling. Once they are both in the car, his hand finds her thigh and squeezes slightly. The small gesture always seems to calm her down some, and she senses he knows that.

The ride to the hospital is quick, being it’s the middle of the night and there’s no traffic.  Meredith is also able to park close. She helps him out of the car, and this time she forces him to let her help him as they walk into the emergency room.

Schmitt jumps up as soon as they walk through the door. It must be a slow night. “Doctor Grey, Doctor DeLuca, are you guys alright?”

“We have a probable appy here, Schmitt.” She leads Andrew to a nearby gurney. “Can you page Doctor Webber or Doctor Bailey, please?”

“On it, Doctor Grey.” Schmitt says before heading back toward the nurse’s station.

Meredith faces Andrew, who is now laying back on the gurney. She cups his cheek and presses a quick kiss to his lips. “You’re lucky, you are in some of the best hands.”

He tucks a few strands of hair behind her ear. “It wouldn’t be anywhere close to best unless it’s your hands, Meredith.”

She smiles. “Well, I doubt they’ll let me operate on you, or I would. That way I knew you are in the best hands.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t be a little weird to see my insides, though?”

She shrugs. “I guess, but I’ve seen basically everything else, so why would it matter?”

“I still think it would be a little weird though.”

Schmitt interrupts the little moment they were having. “Sorry to interrupt, but does he need an IV and some morphine?”

Meredith shakes her head. “I’ve already started an IV earlier, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind morphine.”

“Okay, I’ll be back in a minute.” Schmitt runs off.

“You just wanted Schmitt to leave us alone, didn’t you?” Andrew raises an eyebrow.

“Maybe.” Meredith winks. “He can just be annoying at times too.”

“Yeah-“ Andrew winces, another wave of pain coming over him.

Meredith shakes her head. “See, I knew you needed the morphine.”

“Shut up.” Andrew grunts.

Meredith just watches as Andrew lays back on the gurney, gripping his stomach. She keeps telling herself that it is an appy, the easiest surgery in the world, and that nothing will go wrong. He will be perfectly fine.

“Meredith Grey, what in the world did you page me 911 here for in the middle of the night?” Bailey’s voice booms throughout the pretty vacant ER.

Meredith whips around, coming face to face with a not pleased Bailey. “It’s Andrew.”

Bailey sighs unhappily. “Grey, I’m not helping your boyfriend with whatever mess he got himself into nor do I feel like giving you relationship advice in the middle of the night.”

“Bailey.” Meredith says before moving out from in front of the gurney, revealing Andrew to her.

“Oh.” She looks him over quickly before turning her attention back to Meredith. “What’s going on, exactly?”

“It seems like an appy, and I of course cannot operate on him, so that’s why I paged you in the middle of the night.” Meredith rubs Andrew’s arm softly.

“Okay, have you done scans or labs yet?” Bailey questions.

“No, not yet.” They hadn’t had the chance to, and Meredith wants to get them done as soon as possible to be sure they know what they are dealing with and get him taken care of right away.

“You draw some blood for labs while I go change into some scrubs.” Bailey says softly before walking away.

Schmitt reappears with the morphine and quickly gives Andrew some. Meredith can see him almost instantly relax.

She steps away from the gurney and pulls Schmitt with her. “Hey, can you draw his blood and get him up there for scans? I need to make a phone call.”

“I can do that, Doctor Grey.” He nods.

Meredith says a quick thank you to him before escaping outside. She finds a hospital bench and plops down. She didn’t really need to make a phone call, she just wanted peace and quiet for a few minutes. Who would she be calling in the middle of the night anyways? Maggie is a possibility since she is watching the kids, but she probably fell asleep already. She could call Carina, but she is unsure if she in in the states or not right now. No need to worry her till they know for sure what’s going on, but she makes a mental note to remember to call her in the morning.

Meredith enjoys several minutes in cool, quiet air. It’s not till Schmitt texts her till she realizes how long she had been sitting outside.

_Doctor Grey, we just got done with Andrew’s scans and want to talk to you. Andrew’s been asking where you are at._

She quickly shoots him a text back saying she’ll be there in a minute. She makes her way back inside, and she can’t help but think of how sweet it is that Andrew was wondering where she was.

That four letter word keeps popping up in her brain, and she shoots it down every time. She can’t help but think how it’s too soon for them to love each other. She wonders if she can actually love someone they way she loved Derek. Doubtful, she just cares a whole lot about Andrew. More than she expected.

Meredith knows Andrew has strong feelings for her. Sometimes he will just stare at her with this most intense, loving look. It scares her at times to think that he might love her. Andrew will open his mouth to say something and close it just as fast as it opened, and she has an idea of what he is trying to prevent from tumbling out of his mouth. She knows it will tumble out eventually, she’s just not sure if she’s ready to hear those words just yet.

She shakes off those thoughts as she steps into the waiting area, where Bailey and Schmitt are waiting. “Bailey, you wanted to talk?”

“Yeah, sit Meredith.” She leads Meredith to a chair.

Her mind starts racing. “It’s not appendicitis, is it?”

“Meredith, calm down. No need to go crazy.” Bailey places a hand on her shoulder. “It is appendicitis, but it looks like it has ruptured already.”

Meredith jumps up. “What? But he hasn’t even had symptoms that long! I need to see him.” She tries to push past Bailey, but Bailey simply steps in front of her to stop her.

“Meredith, he is already being prepped for surgery, so you cannot see him. He may have had symptoms longer than he is letting on, Meredith. Either way, he’s going into surgery in the next few minutes.”

“I’m going with you. I will stay by his head and not say a single word. I swear.”

Bailey shakes her head. “No, that will not be happening, Grey. You know the rules, no loved ones in the OR, or even in the gallery. Do not test me Meredith Grey because I will call security on you.”

Meredith falls back into the chair behind her, running a hand over her face. “So, I’m supposed to just sit here?”

Bailey sighs. “That’s how it usually works, Grey. You won’t be alone, though. I called Alex as soon as we seen the scans, and he should be here any minute.”

Meredith sighs. “Thank you.” Bailey and Schmitt turn to leave. “Please don’t let him die Bailey.”

Bailey stop abruptly, and turns back to Meredith. “I know Meredith; you don’t deserve to lose anyone else you love. I’ll take care of him.”

Bailey quickly leaves, leaving Meredith with her thoughts. Her first thought is that Bailey thinks she loves him. Bailey is one who always knows everything, but Meredith isn’t sure she’s right about that. She still not sure she can love after Derek’s death. She definitely never thought she would be freaking out over what is happening to a man in her life again, let alone loving another man. She thought when she had signed that post it that she would be with him for the rest of her life, but that didn’t happen. He got the rest of his life, but she didn’t get the rest of hers. How unfair life can be.

Yet, life gave her Andrew. A man who very obviously cares very deeply about her, and would probably move heaven and Earth for her. She cares about him a lot too, but she’s not sure she could put into words yet. Just the thought of him having to have surgery terrifies her. Even though appys are simple, there is so much that could go wrong. It’s already going to be longer and more difficult than usual since his appendix ruptured, and Meredith isn’t sure if she can take any other bad possibilities. Since she sees these all the time, her mind is racing.

“Meredith?” Alex’s hand lands on her shoulder.

“Yeah?” She looks up at him.

He takes a seat next to her. “I’m just making sure you are alright. I can bet before I walked up you were thinking of everything that could go wrong.” She just glares at him. “That’s what I thought.” He wraps an arm around her shoulders.

She settles against him. “I just wasn’t expecting to freak out so much over him going to surgery for something simple. Like my brain won’t shut up with all the bad possibilities.”

“Meredith, will all the crap that has happened to you in your life, I’m not surprised your brain immediately thinks the worst. I know mine does, and I haven’t been through as much crap as you have.” Alex rubs her forearm slowly.

She sighs. “I just, I don’t think I can handle losing another person in my life.”

“I get that Mer, but you aren’t going to lose him. Bailey’s got him, and he’ll be just fine.”

Meredith glances up at Alex. “Thank you for being here with me.”

“Anytime, Mer. I am your person, remember?” He smiles.

She just smiles, and lays her head onto his shoulder. She’s forever thankful for Alex always being there for her. She couldn’t ask for a better person.

Alex sat there silently with her, and reminding her every once in a while that Andrew is in great hands and that he will be fine. Alex only left her for a few minutes to grab them both coffees. Meredith only took a few sips as her stomach was rolling. Her nerves were really getting the best of her.

It felt like ten hours had passed before she had heard anything. In reality, she knew the surgery wouldn’t take more than two hours. Watching the clock only made it feel like it was taking even longer than it should.

“Meredith?”

Meredith perks up when she hears Bailey’s voice. “Yes? Is he okay?”

Bailey is still her scrub cap, and she pulls it off. “It went pretty good. There was some excess bleeding that we got under control, but other than that he’s good.”

Meredith lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “Thank you, Bailey.”

Bailey smiles, rubbing Meredith’s arm. “As you know, his appendix did rupture. I cleaned out the infection out of his abdominal cavity, but you know he will have to stay in the hospital for a few days on high potent antibiotics to ensure the infection is completely gone and that is does not spread.”

Meredith nods slowly, knowing exactly what Bailey was talking about. She was a general surgeon, and she did she cases like this from time to time. Usually they got better, so she tells herself not to worry. “Yeah, I do know. Can I see him?”

She shakes her head. “Not yet, Meredith. I scrubbed out as soon as I was done and came straight here. So he’s in recovery right now.”

Meredith stands up, and she sees out of the corner of her eye that Alex has stood as well. “Come on, Bailey. Seriously.”

“Meredith Grey, don’t ‘seriously’ me. Right now you are not a doctor, you are a loved one. Loved ones cannot see the patients until they are out of recovery and are in their rooms.” Bailey scolds Meredith.

Meredith does the one thing she knows she shouldn’t do. She pushes past Bailey, breaking into a sprint. Bailey and Alex call for her as she flies through the doors loved ones are not normally allowed through, but she’s a doctor here so she doubts she get in any real trouble. She weaves through the empty hallways to the recovery room. She looks through the window, and she sees him. He’s still sleeping, and he looks peaceful.

She relaxes even more now that she has seen for herself hat he is okay. She watches through the glass as one of the nurses checks on him. He opens his eyes briefly, and frowns. The nurse says something to him before his eyes close again, going back to a peaceful slumber.

“Meredith, I was serious. Don’t make me get security on you.” Bailey appears behind her.

Meredith turns around to face an out of breath Bailey and Alex. “Sorry, I just had to see him for myself.”

Baileys stern façade fades. “I know, Meredith. Go up to his room, and I’ll see if I can get him up to his room sooner, okay?”

Meredith nods. Her and Alex walk silently to the room number Bailey had given Alex. Once they are on the elevator, Alex speaks up. “I’ve never seen Bailey so sympathetic yet mad at someone at one time.”

She elbows him. “Shut up.”

“Do you want me to get a cot put in his room?”

Meredith frowns. “What? Why would I need that?”

Alex sighs. “Because it’s the middle of the freakin’ night, Mer! You know you are going to probably be here early anyways to see him. There’s not a lot of point of going home when you are just gonna worry and think about him the whole time. This way you can at least see him.”

Meredith thinks about this as they finally reach his room. “Actually, I would like that, Alex. Thank you.”

Meredith takes a seat in one of the chairs in the corner of the room, waiting for Alex to come back with the cot. She is completely exhausted, and cannot wait to lay down, even on a stupid, uncomfortable cot. She would rather be in Andrew’s arms, but she’ll settle for being a few feet from him.

She’s about to doze off when Bailey comes through the door, pushing a sleeping Andrew into the room. She adjusts a few things before leaving, leaving the two of them alone. Meredith moves to the side of the bed, grabbing his hand.

His eyes flutter open briefly. He suddenly tries to sit up, but Meredith pushes him back. “No, no, I have to go. I have to tell her something.”

He stops fighting, but he has peaked Meredith’s curiosity. “Tell who, what?”

He rubs his forehead. “I’ve wanted to tell her for weeks, but I know it’s too early and I don’t want to scare her away.”

Meredith bites her lip, and gets the feeling it is about her. “Andrew, tell who? And tell them what?”

He sighs. “Meredith. I love Meredith Grey.”

Meredith inhales sharply, not expecting those word to leave his mouth. Not that she hadn’t thought about it. She seen the way he looks at her. It’s obvious that the anesthesia hasn’t worn off yet, and combined with the pain medicine, he doesn’t realize he was talking to her. “You should just tell her.”

“No,” He shakes his head quickly. “I don’t want to scare her away from me, do you know how long it took me to finally get her?”

Meredith can’t help but smile at the memory of him trying to get her to date him. Now look where they were at. “Well, can I let you in on a little secret?”

He nods. “Yeah.”

“I’ve talked to Doctor Grey, and she told me that she loves you.” Instantly, Andrew gets this huge goofy grin on his face before relaxing and falling back asleep. She knows what she just said is huge, but she doesn’t think he will remember it in the morning anyways.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That ending is pretty predictable but oh well. :)
> 
> After I update Pretty Boy I will update this one again :)
> 
> Shoutout to lovethedream & bambino-andrea for guessing it right!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, it's been a while and I apologize. I just got stuck on how on wanted to take this story, and it took me a while to break through that writers block!

Andrew blinks several times, trying to gather his surroundings. He’s definitely not in his bed or Meredith’s, but it smells vaguely familiar. The room is dark but he can hear a consistent beeping sound. It hits him that he is the hospital, and that’s why it felt familiar and different all at once. Memories of yesterday flood his groggy mind.

He remembers working through the severe pain just to finish out his shift, but he ended up bailing on his last surgery and finding himself an on call room to lay down in. Then his gorgeous, badass girlfriend took him home and took care of him. Andrew loves to see Meredith’s caring side that she doesn’t show very often.

It was weird for him to see her freaking out though. She’s usually so calm and collected, but that’s not how she was last night with him. It worried him, and he was the one in pain. She’s just never like that around him, so maybe it’s just a side of her he has never seen. He knows she has a very extensive past with pain and loss, but it still doesn’t make sense to him. There’s still a lot that he still doesn’t know about her yet. He just wishes he understood why she was freaking out so much.

Andrew swallows some saliva, which doesn’t help with his dry scratchy throat. He glances to the bedside table and doesn’t find a water glass. He groans, and glances to the other side of the room to find Meredith curled into a ball on one of those ridiculously uncomfortable hospital cots.

His hand finds the call button on the side of the bed and presses it. Within about a minute, a nurse appears in his doorway. “Hi, Andrew, how are you feeling?”

He grunts. “Definitely sore. The pain seems to have gotten worse in the last few minutes.”

“You are due for pain meds in about thirty minutes, so that’s not surprising. Is there anything else I can get you?” She smiles softly.

He runs a hand over his face. “Could I get some water? My throat is dry and scratchy.” He glances over to Meredith’s sleeping figure. “And do you mind getting her a blanket and covering her? She gets really cold easily and it’s freezing in here.”

“Of course, that’s so sweet of you to be thinking about her when you are the one in the hospital bed.” The nurse nods before leaving.

Andrew’s head falls back onto the pillow. He hates being in the hospital as a patient. He’s only been a patient a few times but he knows it’s awful. It’s chilly, and the people in the hospital are always waking the patients up at the worst times. Andrew likes his sleep to be uninterrupted, which will not happen in a hospital.

He glances over at his sleeping girlfriend. He’s tempted to wake her as he wants to see those beautiful eyes of hers and make sure she’s okay, but he decides against as he knows she has three kids, and he can’t imagine how hard it is to get some decent uninterrupted sleep.

He sighs. The pain has gotten stronger, but he knows the nurse will be back any minute. For such a simple surgery, it causes a lot of pain. Not at all what he had expected. He lifts his hospital gown to find a bandage he’s seen so many times taped to his lower abdomen. The part of his stomach he can see is tinted yellow, probably from the betadine they use before surgery. He gently lowers the gown, careful not to touch the area.

The nurse reappears in the door with her hands full. She places the water and pain meds on the bedside table. She moves around to the cot Meredith is sleeping and gently places the blanket over her, and Meredith only stirs a little. She pours Andrew some water in a cup. He takes it graciously, drinking the whole cup in a few seconds. He sighs, feeling instantly just a little bit better. It also helps that she just put his pain meds in his IV, causing him to relax instantly.

“Thank you so much.” He whispers, relaxing against his pillow.

“It’s really no problem since it’s my job, but you are welcome. Get some sleep. The doctors will probably be in to check on you shortly.” The nurse pulls the door shut behind her.

She has been so sweet to him so far, and he doesn’t even know her name. He’ll definitely have to find out and give her thank you gift when he gets back to work. Nurses are never appreciated enough.

He glances over at Meredith again. She is still sleeping softly, and he can he even hear her soft snores. He pulls his blanket a little higher on his chest, and quickly falls asleep.

….

He’s awoken again, this time to a bunch of doctors standing at the foot of his bed, staring at him. It must be time for morning rounds. They are talking amongst themselves, waiting on their attending to enter the room.

Andrew glances out the window, and sees Meredith talking to Bailey. That must be causing the hold up. Andrew can’t make out what they are saying, but he can definitely tell his girlfriend is concerned. He hopes it isn’t about him, even though it probably is, because he is fine. She has so many other important things to worry about other than her boyfriend.

“Andrew, how are you feeling this morning?” One of the interns in front of him asks. He vaguely recognizes him from the day the new interns came in. Andrew can’t for the life of him remember the intern’s name, and he feels bad.

Andrew swallows roughly. He definitely needs more water. He’ll have Meredith do it, in hopes of getting what’s worrying her. “Sore.”

“That’s expected. You may be sore for a few days.” The intern writes on the tablet, updating Andrew’s chart. “How is your pain level right now, on a scale on one to ten?”

“Like a six and a half.” Andrew glances back out the window. His girlfriend and Bailey are still engrossed in a conversation. He just wants to see his girlfriend.

“Well, Mr. DeLuca, you are due for more pain medicine soon, so hopefully we can bring that six and a half down.” The intern taps on the chart quickly.

Andrew grunts. “It’s doctor, not Mr.” He pushes himself into more a sitting position, and pain shoots through him. “Can you ask Doctor Grey to come in here please?”

“Oh, I’m sorry doctor. And I’ll get her, since we are done here anyhow.” The intern smiles before leading the other interns out the door.

Andrew watches as the intern taps on her shoulder. A second later, she’s pushing through the door. “Andrew? Is something wrong? Are you okay?”

Andrew frowns. “Nothing’s wrong, Meredith.” He grabs her hand as she reaches the side of the bed and squeezes it. “I just wanted to see my beautiful girlfriend.”

“You scared me. You can’t do that. I thought something was wrong.” She sighs.

Andrew just frowns. He’s really unsure as to how him simply asking for her equals something is wrong, but he doesn’t question it. He knows he will have to get to the root of her fear when he gets a little better and he knows he can get it out of her. “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean too.”

She runs a hand through his hair. “I know.” She presses a quick kiss to lips. “How’s the pain level?”

Andrew grunts as he tries to move. “A solid six right now.”

She frowns. “I’m sorry. I’ll go bug the nurse’s and make sure you get your medicine. Hopefully you will be doing better by tonight.”

Andrew’s confused again. He remembers being told that his appendix ruptured, which typically means the patient would stay in the hospital a few days longer on antibiotics and under close watch. “Why tonight?”

She smiles softly. “Well, if you do well tonight, Bailey said she would send you home first thing in the morning.”

Andrew reaches for the water cup, taking a sip. “Mer, you know I probably won’t be able to go home.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Who said anything about you going back to your apartment?”

He cocks his head to the side, and after a moment he realizes what she means. “Are you sure you are okay with this?”

“Of course. The kids will be more understanding now that you’ve had surgery. I will be taking care of you for a few days till I feel like you can go back to your apartment.”

Andrew sighs. “Mer, you really don’t have to do that.” He would rather not have to stay in the hospital an extra day, but he doesn’t want his girlfriend to drop everything and take care of him. They hadn’t been dating long, and he would understand if she didn’t want to help, but of course, it’s Meredith, so she does want to help. “I can stay in the hospital an extra day.”

She lets out a chuckle. “You are a terrible liar. Nobody likes being a patient in the hospital. Plus, we can spend more time together, even if the drugs knock you out.”

He sighs. How could he say no to his adorable girlfriend who just wanted to spend time with him? “Fine, but only if Doctor Bailey says it’s okay.”

The next twenty-four hours flew by for Andrew. It may be because he is on strong pain meds, which he has learned will knock him right out once they take effect. It was a blessing and a curse. On one hand, he didn’t mind sleeping to pass the time and help his body heal faster, but on the other hand, he could see Meredith was still extremely worried about him. It was written all over her pretty little face. Every time he opened his eyes when Meredith was sitting next to him, she seemed to be relieved, like for some reason he wouldn’t open his eyes again.

He decided not to worry about her too much for the time being. He would definitely be talking to her about it though. Right now, he was just happy to focus on the fact that he wouldn’t be in a hospital bed anymore.

He sat with his legs hanging off the side of his hospital bed, waiting for a wheel chair to be brought to him so they can easily help him down and into Meredith’s car. He started to kick his legs like a little kid, and he winced as a pain shot through him.

“You know, you probably shouldn’t be doing that, DeLuca. You could rip my perfect stitches, and I know you know that.” Bailey stood in the doorway, with one hand on her hip and the other on the wheel chair.

“I know Bailey.” He sighs. “I didn’t even realize I was doing it till I felt the pain.”

“Hm. I figured.” She rolled the chair over to his bedside. “You ready?”

“Yes, I am so ready to get out of here and go home.”

Bailey raises an eyebrow. “Meredith’s house.”

“Yeah,” He appreciates Meredith being so helpful, but he wishes he could relax in his own bed. “Hopefully just until I can handle most things on my own.”

Bailey just shakes her head. She helps guide him down into the chair, making sure he is comfortable. “Is that good Andrew?”

“Yeah.” He relaxes back into the chair, happy to be out of the stupid hospital bed. Bailey begins to push him out of the room and toward the elevator, and he can feel the nurse’s eyes on him. Even though it’s known he is taken, many of them still will try to get with him no matter how many times he tells them no. He knows those are the ones staring.

He knows which nurse’s he will most definitely be getting a thank you gift for. The ones who were so attentive to him the past two days, but also respected when he wanted to be alone. He’s so thankful he got those nurses instead of the ones who just want to get with him.

He wonders if he should tell Meredith about them. There’s nothing to worry about, he is all hers, but he just doesn’t like keeping stuff from her.

That’s another reason why the next few days are going to be an absolute disaster. How could he spend days in her house, around her kids, with her taking care of him, and not blurt out those three words that have been at the tip of his tongue for weeks? He knows it won’t be easy. It already hasn’t been, and he wasn’t staying at her house then.

His feelings for her is something he has never experienced before with any of his past girlfriends. He can’t figure out what the difference is, but he is sure he is deeply in love with her. He can’t just say that, because Meredith is extremely skittish. He has to wait for the perfect time. It may not be for a while, and he doesn’t think he can hold his tongue for much longer. He has to though, because he doesn’t want to lose her.

“Andrew,” Bailey shakes his shoulder gently. “We are at Meredith’s car.”

“Oh, okay.” He didn’t think that much time had passed, but the drugs were really messing with him. He could not wait to ween himself off of them.

Bailey helps him into Meredith’s passenger seat. As he settles in the seat, he can feel her eyes staring her down. Bailey finishes helping him adjust, then promptly shuts the door, leaving them alone.

“Ready?” She asks softly.

Andrew just nods. The car lurches forward, and he just lets his head rest against the window. He can sleep overcoming him, and he knows he won’t stay awake during the short fifteen-minute car ride to her house. He reaches over and grabs her hand anyways.  
Except she pulls it back almost as fast as he grabbed it. “Andrew, I need to focus on driving. I can’t risk getting in an accident and making you worse.”

Andrew didn’t have the strengthen or energy to reply back. He just relaxed his head against the window, ignoring the fact that his girlfriend was still acting weird as hell.

Andrew was pulled from his slumber when he heard his girlfriend’s soft voice calling his name. He blinks several times, trying to figure out exactly where he is. It’s slow to register, but they have arrived at her house.

The next several minutes are a blur to Andrew. Next thing her really knows is that he is snuggled down on Meredith’s couch, covered in a warm blanket. He sees a bottle of water next to him, along with a few bottles of pills. Meredith isn’t anywhere to be found.

He can hear someone in the kitchen. After a minute, Meredith reapers with a bowl of something. She sits on the floor near him, and pushes a spoon toward his face. “Here, eat this.”

He opens his mouth even though he isn’t a single bit hungry. After a few more bites, he pushes her hand away. “Mer, I’m not hungry. I just want to sleep.”

“Well, I want you to get better,” She drops the spoon in the soup that tasted surprisingly good for Meredith making it. “And to do that, you have to eat.”

He can’t really argue much against her. “Well, sleeping helps too.” He pulls the covers up to just under his chin.

“Please,” Meredith pleads. “Just a few more bites, then I will give you your medicine and you can sleep as long as your heart desires.”

He realized a few weeks ago that he was so head over heels for her, that he would really do anything to please her. That’s what matters to him. “Fine, only because I lov-“ He coughs, catching himself. Meredith seems to perk up though, which he doesn’t quite get. She would definitely run if she heard those words, so she must have thought he was going to say something else. “Because I really appreciate you taking care of me.”

Her shoulders drop, and her smile fades a little. “I don’t mind, really. And it’s an excuse to spend more time with you.”

He sighs. “That’s true.”  He continues to takes bites from Meredith, but his mind is elsewhere. Was she expected those words? Is that why she perked up? These questions run through Andrew’s head, but he quickly turns them down. He must be getting things all jumbled and messed up from the drugs, and that’s why it seemed like she perked up at those words. There was no other logical explanation, other than her thinking he was going to say something else. There was no way she was ready for those words yet.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Andrew doesn't remember saying "I love you", and Meredith is obviously still worried, but maybe now that they are at Meredith's they can talk some things out, but you guys will just have to wait and see! ;)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's the last and final chapter of this little series! I hope you guys enjoyed this!  
> I wasn't that happy with this chapter, but I think the end makes up for it.
> 
> Also to those who commented on the last chapter: Thank you for commenting, I really appreciate it! For some reason it wouldn't let me respond to the comments but just know I love you guys!!

A few days had passed, and Andrew was doing considerably better. He was up and moving, slowly getting back to normal. He had even weaned himself off those narcotics that made him so sleepy and jumble things up.

Meredith on the other hand, was still acting like a mother hen. She was constantly asking him how he felt, and not letting him do anything that could possibly cause him pain or injury. She was starting to drive him nuts. She hasn’t even let him go up the stairs yet. She was being completely ridiculous, and Andrew was just ready to go home.

He was in her kitchen getting a snack when he heard the roar of her car. He knew she wouldn’t be gone long to take her kids to school, but he thought he had more time. He shakes his head, and quickly shuts the fridge. He grabs his glass, and quickly paces back to the couch. He flops down, and pulls the blanket up over him.

Her keys jangle in the door, and second later he hears the front doors open. “Andrew?”

“On the couch, Mer.” He calls back.

She comes around the corner and smiles softly. “Hey,” She sets her stuff down by the couch and crouches down next him. “How you feeling?”

He puts up a fake smile. “Good. Great actually. I think I am ready to go home.”

She frowns. “Andrew, we’ve talked about this. It’s best if you stay here till you are better.”

“I know we’ve talked about this, Mer.” He runs his hand over his face. “But that was when I was high on drugs and didn’t know what the hell I was agreeing too. I’m ready to go back to my apartment.”

She bites her lower lip. “Is my house that bad that you can’t wait to leave?”

“No, no, no, I didn’t mean it like that Mer, I swear.” He reaches his one hand out to cup her cheek, and caresses it with his thumb. “It’s just hard to sleep on this couch. It really isn’t that comfortable. That and, not to be mean but I can’t even sleep without someone waking me up. I would just rather be in the comfort of my own apartment.”

She nods, then glances around the room. “How about you sleep in my room then? At least for another couple days?”

Andrew sighs. He doesn’t want to disappoint or upset his girlfriend. At the same time, he just wants some alone time where she isn’t up his ass about how he is feeling. “Fine, we can do that under certain stipulations.”

She pulls his hand from her face and intertwines their fingers. “Okay, what are the stipulations?”

Andrew moves to a sitting position, and pulls Meredith next to him, wrapping an arm around her. “First, you need to go back to work. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate that you are taking care of me, but I can see it on your face that you are bored. Secondly, I can go home in a couple days. Lastly, you will stop yelling at me anytime I try to do something, because Meredith, I get bored just sitting here.”

She rests her head against his shoulder. “I think I can agree to those, Andrew.”

“Okay then, it’s settled.” He presses a kiss to her temple. Again, those three words come to front of his mind. He so badly wants to pour his heart out to her, but he already knows she doesn’t feel the same way. Maybe one day she’ll get there, but he knows it won’t be anytime soon, so for now, he just has to bite his tongue. They are happy where they are, and he definitely doesn’t want to ruin it.

He knows once those words come out, their relationship will go from light and happy to deeper and full of feelings. Like it’s actually going somewhere. If he’s being totally honest, he never did think she would pick him. He’s a confident guy, but Meredith has lived a whole life and then some before he came into her life. Link was the obvious choice, but for some reason, she chose him.

He is still not entirely sure why she picked him, maybe because of his persistence, but he never did expect it to go this far. He never would have thought that he would feel what he is feeling for her. He had been in love before, but nothing like this. She is a whole other level.

Those special words threaten to tumble out, but he manages to hold them in. “Mer, why don’t you go see if you can help at the hospital? They always need help, and it was part of our agreement for you to go back to work.”

She groans. “But it’s so comfortable here in your arms, I could fall asleep like right now.”

He squeezes her a little closer and presses another kiss to the top of her head. “Come on Mer, you literally just made the promise that you would go to work.”

“Fine.” She pulls away from him and stands in front him. She tilts her head to side before leaning down to catch his lips in kiss.

His hand finds her hip, and squeezes gently. One of her hands cups his cheek and the other tangles in his hair, pulling slightly. She teases him, deepening the kiss ever so slightly, but not enough. His other hand finds her hip and pulls her to sitting beside him again. He takes control now, deepening the kiss. One of his hands wanders upward and comes to rest on her breast.

She shoves him away. “Andrew!”

Andrew knows he looks dumbfounded. They have seen each other naked before, so he doesn’t understand why this is a problem. “W-what?”

She raises her eyebrows. “We, we cannot do this. We cannot. No matter how badly I want to, we can’t.”

“Mer,” Andrew reaches out to her. “Why? What’s wrong?”

She blinks several times. “Because you still have stiches, Andrew! You aren’t nowhere near healed yet!”

“Oh,” He wasn’t even thinking about that. He felt fine anyways. “You know, you could always do all the work, it would save me from the strain,” He winks. “And that way we could do what you want.”

Her eyes widen. “No, Andrew. I’m going to work, remember?”

 She grabs her bag from where she left it by the couch, and turns to leave a moment later, slamming the door on the way out. He scoffs at her actions. God does he ever love that woman.

He runs his hand over his face. He was kind of hoping she would stay, and that maybe since he was finally off the strong pain killers that he could stay awake through a whole movie.

He shakes his head and pushes himself off the couch. He has to something other than sit on his girlfriend’s couch and watch television. He would kill to go to the gym and workout, but he knows that’s off the table. His eyes settle on the kitchen, and he knows exactly what he is going to do.

 

….

 

“Andrew?” Meredith calls out.

He glances at the clock. He had not even realized hours had past. He was just busying himself with making food. Her oldest appears in the doorway. “Hey Zola.”

“Mommy, he’s in here and it smells delicious!” Her eyes are wide and darting around the room, looking at the various things Andrew had made.

“What Zola?” Meredith appears in the doorway. Her jaw drops open. “Andrew, you did all of this?”

Andrew eyes travel around the room and he just shrugs. “I got bored.”

She walks toward him, still observing her kitchen. “Some boredom, huh? Where did you get all of this food? I definitely did not have all this food in my cabinets.” She scolds him like a child. “You better not have gone out or I will kill you.”

Andrew laughs at her. “You realize that nowadays that you don’t even have to go into the store to buy groceries and things you need?”

She turns away from him. “Kids, go put your stuff down upstairs and wash your hands, Andrew made us dinner!”

“Yay, no burnt food!” Bailey squeals as he follows his sisters up the stairs.

“I can’t believe you ordered food here to cook. You didn’t have to do that.” She slides her hands around his waist, pulling them closer together. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

“You’re welcome?” He asks, and she responds with a quick kiss.

She tilts her head to the side, a mannerism she picked up from him. “Anything else you want to add?”

He shrugs. “I guess that I hope you enjoy it.” He presses his lips to hers.

She sighs. “Anything else?”

Andrew squeezes her waist. He really doesn’t know what she wants him to say. He is just confused. “I’m sorry about earlier?”

She groans. “That’s not really what I meant, but thanks I guess. I meant, is there something you want to tell me, that you don’t want to say in front of the kids?”

Andrew frowns. His girlfriend is being extremely weird, and he has absolutely no reason why. Thankfully, he hears her kids coming down the stairs so he pulls away from her, resuming what he was doing before.

He hears her scoff behind him. He really doesn’t know what’s up with his girl. He will definitely find out later once the kids are in bed.

“Alright guys,” Meredith says in an almost sing-song like voice. “Since Andrew was very, very nice and made us dinner, why don’t you guys go set the table?”

“Of course, Mommy.” Bailey smiles. Andrew watches as her kids all help to set the table.

Within a few minutes, they are all seated at the table. Somehow, Andrew and Meredith ended up sitting next to each other, and he can feel the tension rising between them. He doesn’t understand what she wants out of him. He feels bad but he has no idea how to fix it since she’s not being straightforward with him.

“God this is freaking amazing, Andrew.” Meredith moans next to him, and he has to stifle a laugh.

“I agree with Mommy. Can you cook for us every day?” Bailey says with a mouthful of pasta.

Andrew glances to Meredith. She just shoves another forkful of pasta in her mouth. “I would, but I’m sure you guys, especially your Mommy, would get tired of having me around every day.” Andrew is unsure why Meredith is so weird tonight, but he can’t help but think it’s because she actually doesn’t like having him around. She didn’t have to do this, but she did it anyways.

Meredith instantly frowns. “No, no,” She sputters out, some food falling out of her mouth. She takes a moment to compose herself before she begins again. “I love having you here, Andrew. Your cooking is a plus.”

Andrew is just confused now. “Okay then, maybe I’ll cook for you guys more often then.”

The three of them yell together, the excitement obvious. Andrew is still certain that she is ready to break up with him till he feels her hand slide onto his thigh and grab his hand. The rest of dinner seems to fly by, and Andrew in thankful. It was nice to spend time with her kids, but he just wants to get to the root of what is bugging her.

“Kids,” Meredith says as the two of them begins to clear the table. “I want your homework done if you want Andrew’s cookies.”

The kids quickly scurry off, excited to have more of Andrew’s cooking. Andrew is happy to finally be alone with her, but nervous at the same time. The second the kids are out of earshot, he speaks up. “Mer, are you okay? You’ve been acting weird today.”

She sighs and puts down the dish she was washing. “I’m just waiting for you to tell me something, but maybe I made it all up in my head, or I don’t know.”

He moves closer to her, grabbing her waist and pulling her closer. “Mer, I have no idea what you are talking about.”

She pushes out of his arms, and re-grabs the plate she was washing. “Never mind, Andrew. It’s really not that important.”

“Mer, if it’s bugging you, it’s obviously important to you.” He slides his hand down her forearm. “Just tell me, stop going around whatever it is.”

“You,” She puts the plate down for the second time. She turns to face him, but avoids eye contact. “It’s you.”

“Me?” Andrew asks, offended. He hadn’t done anything wrong that he knows off.

“You.” She nods. “Andrew, I never, never expected to feel the way I am feeling right now again. You are the reason for that. I just thought that after Derek died, it would just be me and my kids, but then there’s you. You have been in my life for several years now,” She waves her hands around. “But just as a co-worker until you kissed me at Alex and Jo’s wedding. I never thought that little drunken kiss would bring us where we are now, but here we are. I wouldn’t change it. You have made me feel things that I haven’t felt in years. You’ve made me smile more than I have in years. I’m still trying to process all these feelings, but…”

Andrew waits a moment for her to continue, listening contently. “But what Meredith?”

“But Andrew, God you have made me fall for you, in ways I never thought I would fall for someone again. Andrew, what I am trying to say is,” She runs a hand through her hair. “Andrew, I love you.”

“You,” Andrew blinks several times. He pinches himself to ensure he’s not dreaming. “You love me?”

She nods. “Yes Andrew, I love you. I’ve been trying to get you to say it because I already know you do, it’s very obvious.” She giggles.

“Oh Meredith,” Andrew sighs, pulling her into a tight embrace. “I do love you, I was just afraid to tell you.”

She pulls back. “I know, but you kinda already told me.”

“I did?” He raises his eyebrows.

She giggles. “When you first came out of anesthesia, you were a bit confused. You told me that you had to tell her something, and that you had been holding it in for weeks. So of course I was curious, and I got it out of you who you were trying to tell what. You didn’t even realize you were talking to me, which was actually pretty funny. So, I told you that I had talked to her and that she loves you too. You had the biggest grin on your face, and it was worth it.”

“I made a pretty big fool of myself, huh?” His hands find her waist, pulling her closer.

“I love you anyways.” She reaches up to press a kiss to his lips.

He tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I don’t think I’ll get tired of those three words leaving your mouth.”

She smiles, and presses her lips against his. His hands tighten around her waist, pulling her flush against him. Her hands find the curls on the back of his neck.

“Mommy! Why are you kissing Andrew?” Bailey squeals, and Meredith and Andrew jump apart from each other. The other two kids join him in the doorway with equally confused looks. “I thought he was just your friend?”

Meredith tries not to laugh, and Andrew is bright red. “Well, Andrew and I have something to tell you guys.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed :)


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